The Meaning Behind the Brand Names
How much effort goes into a brand name? Sometimes millions of dollars and hours of user research and analysis. Sometimes it's a random employee who comes up with the idea through a contest (think Accenture - accent on the future). We do a lot of naming for our clients whether it be for a new initiative, a new product, a renaming of a company, an internal program, and there really is no one way to go about it. From a brainstorm to all the legal intellectual property searches, I wonder how many hours really went into some of the most well known names out there?
Many people ask me where Sandstorm came from. I should come up with a highly conceptual meaning, but that's not how it happened. Sandstorm was a nickname of mine from college so I went with it because it was fun yet strong, spontaneous and energetic. Plus my maiden name was very difficult to pronounce, spell and remember. When I started the company in 1998 I had no idea that someday I would have an incredible agency filled with Sandstormers. Still wows me today.